Ball retriever



Jan. 7, 1958 J. E. BORAH BALL RETRIEVER Filed June 4, 1953 JOHN 5. 5024/1 IN V EN T 0R.

United States Patent O BALL RETRIEVER John E. Borah, Mishawaka, Ind.

Application June 4, 1953, Serial No. 359,504

1 Claim. (Cl. 294-19) This invention relates to improvements in ball retrievers, and more particularly to a retriever for golf balls which is adapted to be mounted upon the shaft of a golf club to project from the end of the hand grip thereof.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a device of this character which is adapted to grip the irregular surface of a ball at a circumferential inwardly projecting flange at the mouth of a resilient socketed body, wherein the flange is thin and narrow and wherein the inner edge of the flange is so proportioned to the shape and depth of the socket that the ball has clearance i with the bottom of the socket when it is gripped by the flange along a circular line of smaller dimension than the circumference of the ball.

A further object is to provide a golf ball retriever having a resilient body provided with a concave socket and an inwardly directed marginal lip, which is characterized by a circumferential groove in the outer wall of the body located in a plane substantially parallel to said lip and spaced from said lip a distance substantially equal to the depth of said socket.

A further object is to provide a ball retriever formed integrally from resilient material and being characterized by the mounting portion and acup-shaped end portion joined at a restricted or reduced dimension neck portion, whereby at least a small amount of distortion of either of the end portions may occur without distorting the other end portion.

Other objects will be apparent from the following specification.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a view illustrating the ball retriever mounted upon the handle portion of a golf club;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged axial sectional view of the ball retriever mounted upon a golf club by means of an inserted stud;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged axial sectional View illustrating the ball retriever formed as a part of a hand grip sheath;

Fig. 4 is a side view of a modified embodiment of the invention with parts shown in section; and

Fig. 5 is a side view of another modified embodiment of the invention with parts shown in section.

Referring to the drawing, and particularly to Fig. 1 thereof, the numeral designates the handle portion of a golf club having the usual shaft 12 mounting the club head 14. A ball retriever is mounted upon the handle portion 10, the same consisting, as illustrated in Fig. 1, of a skirt portion 16 and circular cup or socket portion 18, the portions 16 and 18 being formed integrally and being separated by a restricted integral neck portion 20.

The ball retriever is preferably of substantially the same shape and configuration as illustrated in Fig. 2 except for the difference in the means of attachment to the golf club. Thus in Fig. 2 the handle portion 10 has an axial socket 22 in its outer end, and a stud portion 24 is formed centrally of and projects from the socket portion 2,819,109 Patented Jan. 7, 1958 2 18 and is secured in the socket 22 either by a snug fit or with the use of an adhesive. The base surface 26 of the head 18 will bear flat against the outer end of the club handle 10. The groove 20 is formed in the head 18 spaced from the plane of the shaft abutting surface 26.

A thirdmeans of attachment of the ball retriever is illustrated in Fig. 3, wherein the head 18 is shown integral with an elongated sleeve or sheath 28 which forms the surface sheath for the golf club handle 10. In this instance the groove 20 is formed at the junction of the head 18 and the handle sheath 28 and preferably is spaced from the end surface of the handle 10.

In each of the embodiments of Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the head of the retainer has a socket portion 30 formed therein open at the outer end of that member, the same being provided with a restricted mouth defined by an inwardly projecting narrow circumferential flange 32 which is of tapered cross-section and terminates at a sharp edge portion. The maximum diameter of the ball retainer portion 18 will not be substantially greater than the handle, and in the preferred dimension will preferably be less than one and one-fourth inch in diameter. The retainer will project from the end surface of the club a distance not substantially greater than one-half inch. The socket 30 will preferably be of a depth in the order of three-tenths of an inch, and its maximum diameter inwardly of the lip 32 will preferably be one inch or slightly less. The diameter of the socket at the mouth, measured from diametrically opposed inner edge portions of the lip 32, will be in the order of seven-eighths of an inch to nine-tenths of an inch. The dimensions quoted are those which apply in cases where the device is mounted upon the club.

The groove 20, which defines a restricted dimension neck portion at 34 between the retainer portion 18 and the mount therefor, is so positioned that it is spaced from the outer face of the lip a distance substantially equal to the depth of the socket 30. This arrangement provides at the reduced portion 34 an annular integral joint between the socket and its mounting of a nature to be free to flex. This is of importance in connection with a device of this character because it makes possible the distortion and spreading of the socket 18 upon application of minimum pressures and in such a manner that it is not necessary to stretch or distort a large bulk of material as has been true in the constructions illustrated in my co-pending applications, Ser. No. 300,061, filed June 21, 1952, now Patent No. 2,750,222 dated June 12, 1956 and Ser. No. 340,237, filed March 4, 1953.

Still another advantage of the provision of this groove is that it makes possible the application of a skirted type of retainer to a club having a hand grip of non-circular cross-section without transmitting the irregularity of the shape of the club to the ball-retaining socket portion 18. Thus, if the cross-section of the club handle is oval such as to have fiat surfaces thereon as is sometimes true in golf clubs, the distortion of the skirt to accommodate the major transverse axis or dimension of the handle would, in my prior constructions, tend to distort the ball-retaining cup in such a manner that the mouth of the cup would not lie flat and would not be truly circular. No such distortion of the cup occurs here and, instead, the distortion is taken up at the slot 20 which will be distorted or reshaped to be of greater width at some points than at others around its circumference when the device is mounted on a club handle of non-circular crosssection. Thus, the two principal advantages of this device are, first, that the formation of the groove 20 increases the sensitivity and flexibility of the skirt portion of the socket to accommodate its application to a ball by light pressure, and, second, that distortion of the mounting portion df thefievice will not distort the ballgripping portion of the device. The "second of these advantages is an important principle in the skirted type of construction illustrated inFigs. 1, 4 and 5, and it may also be important inthe Fig. 3 embodimentand is of little importance" in the Fig. 2 embodiment.

In order to increase'the fiexibility ofthe de'vicea't and "adjacent the .lip, a construction as"il1ustrated in Fig. 4 'may'be'e'mployed in'whi ch a circumferentialgroove 36 'is formedin the'outer surface ofthe'r'etainer'portion 18 between the groove 20 and'theflat'open outer "end of the cup'rnerriber This groove Will'be "shallow compared to the depth of the'grooveztl andwill'pr'e'ferably o'c'cur adjacent to the large dimension point 38 "of the socket 36 serves to reduce the'bulkof rubber "at "and around 'the marginof'the flange 32 soasto increase "the sensitivity 'of the deviceand fu'rther reduce thepressure which isrequired'to beappliedinorder to effect a grip of the device upon'the pebbled surface"ofa"golf ball 40.

Another variation'oflthesame thought is to provide,

not only the groove 36 in "the outerperiphery of the portion 1'8,'but" also to provide-a'second and preferably smaller circumferentialgroove'42 betweenthe mouth of the socket and the circumferential groove 36. The groove of the socket'and' is' a further factor incorporating sensitivity in'thc device for -effective gripping action Without requiring the use of substantial pressure.

Each of these devices has, as one characteristic thereof, provision for a pumping action employed to effect a'grip.

In other words, in applying the device to a ball, if the cup fits over the ball, pressure is applied, released, and then applied again, the grip of the device upon the ball may be greater and more certain than if pressure is applied "by-only'one"'stroke. 'Oneof'theadvantages'of the pumping action is that the second stroke facilitates the reorientation of the lip or flange of the cup to the ball throughout its full circumferential extent in the event its first application was not fully accurate.

Another advantage of the present construction is that the grooves thereof, and: particularly the groove 20, permits lateral distortion of the outer portion 18 relative to the remainder ofthe device with minimum danger of damage or breakagewhen the club is laid down or strikes an abutment.

Whilethepreferred embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it will be understood that changes in the construction may be made Within the scope of the appended claim without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

Aball'ret'riever adapted to be mounted on the end of a shaft, comprising a thin unitary resilient and elastic body having a mounting portion at one end for the shaft, an intermediatered'uced portion and a circular ball-gripping portion at the other end of a cross-sectional size substantially equal'to'thecross-sectional size of said other end, said ball-grippingend portion having a concavity centered at its end and provided with a restricted mouth defined'by an inwardly projecting narrow marginal flexible lip, said reduced portion being of a cross-sectional dimension not'substanti'ally greater than the cross-sectional dimension of said mouth and less than the cross-sectional size-of said shaft'whereby distortion of one end portion of said bodyisnottransmitted to the'othe'r end portion thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

